International Silat Federation of America & Indonesia

Silat Tuo, Silat Tradisional,

Silat Minangkabau

Traditional Indonesian Music & Dance

Gamelan Ensemble

A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically
from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments
such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs;
bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings.
The tuning and construction of a gamelan orchestra is a complex
process. Javanese gamelans use two tuning systems:
sléndro and pélog. In general, no two gamelan
ensembles are the same, and those that arose in prestigious
courts are often considered to have their own style.
In Indonesia, gamelan usually accompanies dance, wayang
puppet perfonnances, or rituals or ceremonies.

Saman Dance

"Saman" the most popular dance in Aceh and the dance that
has become well-known abroad with the name "Thousand
hands". It has its origin from the Alas ethnic group and is
normally performed to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet
Muhammad [S] and other important occasions.
Eight to twenty male perfonners kneel in a row on the floor
and make different kinds of torso movements accompanied
by songs, clapping hands, slapping chests, slapping hands on
the floor, etc. The songs are praises to Allah or prayers. The
dance starts with slow movements and increases its tempo
gradually to great speed and finally come to a sudden stop.
There are many differcnt regional versions of "Saman".

Baris Dance

Baris Dance is a ceremonial dance from Bali. The word Baris
itself means "lines" or can also be associated with soldiers
forming lines, which is why this dance shows skills of a
group of soldiers.
This dance is a group dance performed by males, which is
usually performed by 8 to 40 dancers with lively and dynamic
yet sturdy music, accompanied by Gongs. The dancers usually
bring weapons as well as tools of the ceremony and use different
colored costumes.

Sasando

Sasando is a traditional string musical instrument from Rote,
Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia. The shape of sasando is
quite similar with other types of string instrument such as
guitar, violin, or kacapi.
The sasando consists of a body made from a hollow piece of
bamboo, with a wooden head and foot. The old version of
the sasando has 10 strings, stretched from the head to foot,
and fastened at both ends with nails. The nails at the head
can also be turned to adjust the tuning by altering the tension
of the strings. This sound source sits inside a semi-spherical
resonator made from leaves of the palmyra palm tree. A
small sasando can be 30 cm wide, while a large one can be
50 cm long and 30 cm wide.
Sasando music is used within the Timorese community for
all kinds of social events, such as to celebrate the birth of
baby, a wedding or death.

Golek Dance

The Golek Dance originated from the Yogyakarta Hadiningrat
Court in Central Java. Compared to average Javanese
court dances, the Golek dances have vivid characteristics
because their choreography is inspired by dance outside the
Javanese courts.
This dance depicts court ladies who are preparing for a court
festivity. They realise that one can be dressed with external
beauty as well as with intcrnal beauty. The ladies try to see
through the mcaning of beauty in human life, while observing
themselves in the mirror.

Yapong Dance

Yapong dance is a contemporary dance from Jakarta, Indonesia,
composed by Bagong Kussudiardjo, a famous choreographer
from Yogyakarta, Java in 1970.
Yapong is based on Betawi traditional style female dance.
The music is very lively; it is a combination of a new Javanese
melodic gamelan style with a modem beat.

Angklung

Angklung is a traditional musical instrument that originated
from Sunda, West Java, Indonesia. It is made of two bamboo
tubes that resonate and produce a note when struck. Each
angklung is tuned to play a particular note in an octave.
The history of angklung can be dated back more than a thousand
years ago during Sunda Kingdom when it was used as a
way to foster community spirit as well as to praise the Goddess
of Padi Dewi Sri. Angklung is played by shaking the
instrument rapidly from side to side. It can be played solo or
in an ensemble where each person plays a particular note.

Indonesian Choir

Choir is called "Paduan Suara" in Indonesian. It plays a relatively
important role in Indonesian culture, often performed
during important events such as wedding or special celebrations.

Kicir Kicir

This is a traditional song of Betawi people from Jakarta. The
lyrics of the song actually consists of poems that have
rhymes at the end of each sentence (similar to limericks).
Each of these poems contains advice or consolation with a
sense of humor, a very typical character of Betawi people.

Ondel Ondel

Ondel-ondel is a traditional song from Jakarta. Ondel-ondel
is a giant puppet mascot used in Betawi's marriage, ceremonies,
or the city of Jakatia's anniversary festivals. These puppets
represent Betawi's ancestors who always guard and look
after their descendants. The size of an Ondel-ondel puppet
can be as high as 2.5 m and 80 cm in diameter. It is made of
bamboo webbing and the hairs are made of fibre of palm
tree. This traditional song contains invitation for watching
the Ondel-ondel parade, accompanied by a lively musical
arrangement and lyrics full of humor.